![]() But when used properly on even ground with their flanks protected and fighting in front of them, the phalanx was practically invincible. The phalanx, with its long spears, must keep tight formations at all times and can only move slowly and fight effectively directly in front of them. The short sword allowed them to carry a larger, curved shield, but more importantly, Roman legionnaires were more flexible on a battlefield as their formations and soldiers could maneuver themselves to changing conditions. The Roman weapon of choice was the gladius, a short sword that had no hope of matching the reach of the Macedonian spears. The Romans didn’t fight with spears, nor did they fight in the heavy phalanx formation that Alexander used to conquer the world or that Athens and Sparta used to dominate Greece for centuries in defiance of much larger, more powerful empires. When Roman officers saw tens of thousands of heavy Macedonian spear across the river from them at Pydna, they were said to have torn their clothes shouting in fear at their impending deaths. The Macedonian phalanx was legendary, dominating battles for centuries since Alexander the Great’s father Philip became the master of Greece with their tight formations and sarissas, 20 foot long spears, which moved in unison crushing helpless troops in front of them. They had nearly twice as many men, more cavalry, and were fighting in Greece on a battlefield of Perseus’s choosing. However, continued instability led Rome to occupy and annex Greece – the beginnings of Rome’s quest to dominate the entire Mediterranean. ![]() In the previous two Macedonian wars, Rome did not attempt to conquer and annex territory, instead choosing to leave Greece independent and form alliances with military powers under Roman influence. In 168 BCE, Roman legions under Lucius Aemilius Paulus launched the final campaign of the Third Macedonian War in mainland Greece after King Perseus of Macedonia attempted to conquer all of Greece, threatening Rome’s eastern borders. The outcome of the Battle of Pydna and the ultimate conquest of all of the Mediterranean by Rome is in no small part thanks to a middling military rank in the Roman army, which is the focus of the story in Luke 7: the centurion. The decline of Greek powers and the rise of the Roman Republic dramatically changed life in biblical Israel and ultimately led to the events that unfold in the New Testament. The outcome saw the end of Macedonian and Greek rule of Greece, and it cemented Rome as the only dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean. This weekend, on June 22nd, is the anniversary of the Battle of Pydna, an event that shaped life in the eastern Mediterranean for centuries to come.
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